First, make sure you participate fully and pay for the summer program at your own gym. Summer is often a very slow time in the gym business and they can take advantage of the business. Before you decide to spend money outside of your own gym, you should really consider spending it at your own gym first.

No Trainer Will Work Harder Than Your Own Trainer

There is no camp coach more interested and dedicated to training your gymnast than your own trainer in your own gym. Coaches at gymnastics camps are usually coaches of other teams or high school or college gymnasts. They have their own gymnast or are thinking about a gymnastics career that doesn’t directly involve your child.

A Week at Camp Not For Gymnasts

It’s possible that a new coaching perspective can sometimes propel a gymnast’s progress, but a week or so is unlikely to have lasting training value. In essence, your gymnast’s progress will depend on the training they receive from your own coach throughout the year, not a week at a commercial summer camp.

Camps Let Gymnasts See Where They Really Stand

Camp gymnastics can provide some things that are not available in your gym. The commercial camp attracts a large number and variety of gymnasts from all over the country. Gymnasts can feel their position in the sport compared to all the gymnasts in the camp. It can be an enlightening experience.

Star Gazing Gymnastics

Commercial gymnastics camps are frequented by nationally recognized gymnasts and coaches who can be both inspirational and educational. Commercial gymnastics camps have all the latest training equipment, which may or may not be available in your own gym.

Gymnastics Camp Gives Your Gymnast a Summer Camp Experience

Another thing that commercial gymnastics provides is the camp experience including the social aspects of going to summer camp, meeting new people and making new friends and participating in traditional camp activities.

Camp is Kamp

So is it worth it? Send your gymnast to a commercial gymnastics camp if you have supported your own gym’s summer training program. Send them to a commercial summer camp for a typical summer camp social experience. If that is your goal, then your gymnast will definitely be able to have a positive gymnastics summer camp experience.

20 Books and Counting

John Howard is the author of 20 books and e-Books on gymnastics, gym design, gymnastic humor, and cheerleading. More books are on the way. She has 25 years of experience and has coached State, Regional and National champion gymnasts and international competitors and cheerleaders at the National level in NCAA Division I.

Enter the Gymnastics Zone

GymnasticsZone is a website for gymnasts, cheerleaders, coaches and parents with lots of FREE articles and information, fun pages and activities available for viewing. Go there to learn more about Choosing Gymnastics Summer Camps.